Posted on 12/21/2007 7:42:11 PM PST by Westlander
Link only per protocol
www.wwj.com/Transplant-Decision-Too-Late--Teen-Dies/1376284
There is no civil right to a liver transplant.
If an avowed Alchy like David Crosby can get one.. why could she not be allowed?
I hate the thought of Socialized Medicine but with the Morons we are cropping out of Government Schools and the ridiculous amount of useless Government workers and regulations that contradict each other...
We just have to get Our Act together and get rid of these Unions and these A holes that can’t find their ass from their Elbows!
GRRRRRRRR!
RIP.
The teen was removed from life support systems and died. While the condition had worsened removing a person from life support spells almost certain death.
Under socialized medicine the kid probably wouldn’t have gotten life support to begin with.
And alcoholism was the least of David Crosby’s toxic ills. He went to prison for smoking crack. He hated his time in prison but he would never have gotten clean if he hadn’t.
Is it the insurance company who should make this statement, or professional doctors?
I have Cigna and it has become the norm in my home that when a claim is filed, their step one is to deny, then we have to fight tooth and nail. Still trying to rectify a bill from 2006 for Insulin Pump supplies for my juvenile diabetic son. Cigna says the company I purched them from is out of network, even though we called Cigna for verification first and the manufacturer shows them by contract as in network.
And then there is the $72.00 they won't pay because they don't know why I was given oxygen/blood tests in the emergency room last February when I had shortness of breath, heaviness in the lungs, and chest pains.
Exactly!
LET THE FREE FREAKIN’ MARKET RULE!!
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2003/07/14/newscolumn1.html
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/012406NeglectingComplaints.html
http://www.cignaphysiciansettlement.com/
http://www.my3cents.com/search.cgi?criteria=CIGNA%20Corporation
Just happen to have these links bookmarked?
Disgruntled Cigna employee, or you’ve been through the Cigna wringer too?
There is more to this story. The girl had many other medical problems which made her a bad candidate for the transplant.
I am reserving judgment either way until I learn more facts.
Never a Cigna employee, nor had their insurance. Just used alltheweb.com for some background history. Here’s a goody for you- http://www.insurancenewsnet.com/article.asp?a=top_news&id=77568
This might have something to do with the decision. The article doesn't have enough information to pass judgment, imo.
There is no civil right to a liver transplant.There is a right to expect insurance companies to meet the obligations of their contract with the insured. Of course she died while the insurance company bickered over the legal details of her policy. On the other hand there is no civil right for stockholders to make a profit, especially by sandbagging patient care decisions.
Just for reference, in 2005 H Edward Hanway, CEO of Cigna, was paid $1 million in Salary, $2.6 million in bonuses. $7.9 million in "other" compensation, and 1.7 million in market gains from the stock the company most likely gave him. I'm glad they were able to save some money on a Liver Transplant so they could pay his meager salary.
The teen was removed from life support systems and died. While the condition had worsened removing a person from life support spells almost certain death.People are removed from life support when they have suffered brain death. Otherwise everyone could be kept "alive" indefinitely with modern technology.
I personally leave the blame with insurance company legal hair splitting. The UCLA doctors were able to quote survival rates for this procedure. Just what qualifies a procedure to be "non-experimental"? Maybe it's well reasoned decisions by insurance company bureaucrats.
You and the lawyer err.
There is more to this story. The girl had many other medical problems which made her a bad candidate for the transplant.Who declared her a bad candidate for a transplant, the doctors at UCLA or the bean counters at Cigna?
The extra part to this story is how the insurance company made a buck by denying her first claim for a liver transplant. She didn't survive the lengthly appeals process to get the benefits she was due. Surprise, surprise.
And what obligation of the insurance contract would that be. She never met the criteria.
Are you trying to say that everything a patient wants has to be granted? That’s sounds like something from fairyland.
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